


I Know You

by AllINeedIsALittleFelix



Category: Sherlock (TV), Sherlock Holmes & Related Fandoms
Genre: Band Fic, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Game Shows, M/M, Music, Musicians, Post-Season/Series 04, Song Lyrics
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-06-04 18:37:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,013
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15153206
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AllINeedIsALittleFelix/pseuds/AllINeedIsALittleFelix
Summary: Sherlock and John go undercover to compete in a couples contest. While they think they know what's happening, that is definitely not that's happening. Johnlock. Beta-ed by the lovely Ctenophore.D.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N:  
> Thanks to my beta Ctenaphore.D She said I said that I said was said too many times. You're the only one who'll get this joke, I know.

 

The door bell of 221 B buzzed, breaking the monotony of the day nicely.

"Client!" Sherlock literally jumped out of his arm-chair and flopped about the room like a nine-year old girl. John, too used to these behavioral swings, merely got up to get his note-pad.

The client came in and after a few preliminary deductions (or in other words, showing off), Sherlock sat in his arm-chair and folded his palms.

"Mr. Holmes, I'm Phil Sagarson. I'm currently the director to a musical video of a very prominent band which I can't name yet..."

" _Madness Within_. We know. Continue" Sherlock murmured, his eyes still closed.

The client jerked a little but restored his air in a surprisingly short amount of time.

"Okay, the band is  _Madness Within_. I have reasons to believe that their manager, , is part of a smuggling ring." Mr. Sagarson's voice became a little quicker here "I can't say anything for sure Mr. Holmes. He keeps carrying a different suitcase everyday. Strange people come to the set for him and it is always to drop off a bag. I found some antique cups in his room once. He leaves for a notoriously long amount of time and always carries a bag. I can't go to the police with this. The band's reputation..."

"How do your crew members take this?" Sherlock said, after a minute of silence.

"They think he's having an affair, becasue he always looks so satisfied when he returns. I don't know Mr. Holmes, it is only a suspicion"

"Tell me about the video" Sherlock said, now opening his mobile.

"Well, the song is called  _I Know You._ We are actually planning on having a contest and the winners will be featured in the video. It is to be announced tomorrow."

"What sort of contest?" John asked, seeing that Sherlock was quite busy with his phone.

"You see, the song is about couples who know each other. It's about..hang on, I'll read out from the announcement" he took out his phone "...about couples who've endured hardships in the past, about time and constancy. We are in search of that couple who are an embodiement of the song - a couple that has no secrets."

"I'm sorry, what?" John asked, not taking in even a single word. It all sounded like those corny movies his girlfriends made him watch.

"They are going to quiz the couples about each other and see how much they know each other. Apparently, that is a measurement of the love they have for each other" Sherlock said, now looking away from the phone.

"Oh, it's not just a quiz. It's much more than that. We've ensured that no couple gets via trickery. Only genuine couples who actually know and understand each other will stand a chance. I and my wife did a test run..."

"And?"

"We've got past round two and no further. We've only been married for a year, though. We are working on it." Mr. Sagarson said, looking slightly embarassed.

"Well, I looked up Mr. Simmons." Sherlock said, breaking the silence that seemed to have conjured istelf. "He has a record. I think, John, he might be part of that dark flower group.." Sherlock raised his eyebrows to warn John about not giving the name  _The Black Lotus_

"Well, you and Mycroft should enter the contest" John said jokingly.

Sherlock's eyes suddenly glimmered.

"No" John said, fully knowing what just happened.

"John..." Sherlock began.

"No" John cut him off.

"But..."

"No"

"Shan..."

"No"

"For me?"

"No"

"I'm sorry?" Mr. Sagarson said, clearly confused. He did not understand the one word argument the couple were presently having. Or what triggered it. All he knew was that Mr. Holmes turned to that doctor and it just broke out.

"You see, there's only one way in which I can help..." Sherlock began, only to be cut off by John again.

"I'm not going to pretend to be your  _boyfriend,_ Sherlock! The assumptions, I can handle but not  _this!_ "

"Oh, so you are going to enter the contest as well?" Mr. Sagarson said, intrigued.

"Well, it's the safest way. I played with the idea of being the make-up artist but I don't think you have the connections. Anyway, this is more efficient."

Mr. Sagarson looked at Sherlock, clearly playing with the idea. He finally smiled saying,

"Well, your eye conversation means you'll atleast get past round one. That's enough time isn't it?"

"Plenty" Sherlock said, whipping out his phone again.

"Hang on. I haven't agreed!" John said, irritated with the non-verbal agreement Sherlock and Mr. Sagarson had.

"You wouldn't have to do anything, Dr. Watson. Maybe hand-holding but that's all"

" _Hand holding?"_ John said, completely flabbergasted.

"Yes, John, that's what they call it when two people touch each others hands. Mr. Sagarson, we'll be at the preliminary selections tomorrow. Good day" Sherlock said, waving his hand in clear dismissal.

"Thank you, Mr. Holmes."

"Sherlock, please. I am sending you the details of our fake identites right now." Sherlock said, not looking above his phone.

The client nodded and left luckily before the storm erupted in 221 B.

"WHY...WHAT...NO" John seemed to have lost the ability of constructing a sentence.

"Think, John. General Shan could be at it again."

"Could be, but WHY THE HELL am I to suffer? Be the bloody make-up artist!" John yelled.

"Oh, come on, John. Half fridge space and no experiments in the house for two weeks"

"A month" John was calming down.

"Three weeks"

"Deal"

They both shook hands and went through the details of the competiton. Apparently, there were three rounds. They sounded pretty ridiculous to be frank. The first round was to test the couple's understanding. They would be blind-folded and would have to find each other. They were not allowed to speak. The first five couples who did so would reach the second round. All other rounds were equally corny.

"I'll wear a really strong cologne" Sherlock said, after ridiculing the entire thing.

John calmed himself, laughing at Sherlock. It was alright really. They were friends. John never really felt that way for Sherlock. It was just people's assumptions got on his nerves. They were doing it for a case and John felt slightly ashamed for his outburst earlier. It wasn't like he would have to  _kiss_  Sherlock.

"So, what are our fake personas?"

"I'm William and you are Hamish" Sherlock said, readying himself for another explosion. It did not come. Clearly, John was too tired to argue.

"Alright fine, staying close to the truth then. Will you be wearing a disguise?"

"Of course. You should too. Would you like a wig? That should do it"

"Yes please"

They spent a lot of time in Sherlock's bedroom trying on different wigs. Sherlock amused John by wearing all his costumes and saying ridiculous lines. He remember one memorable moment when Sherlock wore the traffic police-men's unfiorm and said:

"Never race without protection"

They both in fact had a pretty good time. John went back to his room, pleased with how life was. He completely forgot what it is that he was going to do tomorrow.

SHSHSHSHSH

John woke up to the sound of Sherlock's voice.

"Hamish!"

John looked up groggily.

"What?"

"A repeated lie becomes the truth" Sherlock replied, now opening the curtains to let the sunlight hit John's face.

"Come on now. Wear your wig" Sherlock huffed, throwing a many legged spider on his face, which John later realised was the wig.

"Blond?" John raised an eyebrow.

"It suits you" Sherlock said in a non-comittal tone.

"Where's your disguise then?"

"Surprise" Sherlock continued his non-chalant tone "and by the way, start calling me WIlliam"

"Good morning,  _WIlliam_ " John said, in an attempt at Sherlock's drawling voice. He failed.

"Good morning, Hamish. Now, get ready. You need to be there in an hour. I'll come by a little later"

SHSHSHSHSH

John had never heard of  _Madness Within_ but when he reached the auditorium, atleast half of London's population seemed to have made it their mission to get selected. John adjusted his wig nervously and gave their details to the man in charge. The couples would be given a number and it was more or less like a lottery draw. John texted their number  _1156_  to Mr. Sagarson.

He waited until the draw was to take place, tapping his foot impatiently waiting for Sherlock. Mr. Sagarson arrived along with the band which caused an instant uproar and thus temporary deafness. The band members (four male and two female) all waved at them. Each band member, the director and the producer would pick a number thus selecting eight couples. John saw many couples crossing their fingers. He smirked and said jauntily to the couple next to him.

"I'm getting in" he said in a cocky manner.

"Admire your confidence mate. The odds are not good" the man replied, holding his girl-friend's (no, wife! the ring) hand and crossing his other hand.

The band members played a song called  _The X Mask_ to entertain the crowd. John, however, was slightly worried. Sherlock hadn't arrived yet.

**Where are you? They're going to begin! - JW**

**At the auditorium. Can't make my way through. I'll join you on stage? -SH**

**All right. Our number is 1156 - JW**

A laptop was brought onto the stage and the instructions were clear. Each member would pick a four digit number and type it on the screen which would then be visible via the projector they had on stage.

The first band member typed: 1

The area near John was in instant uproar.

2 9 0

There was a high pitched scream and a couple went to the stage, resembling Sherlock when he first hears about a good case, that is, giggly and jumpy. John couldn't see anything.

Not that he needed to. He was going to join them on stage anyway.

After 0987,0034,0001,0689,1230, it was the turn of Mr. Sagarson. He walked towards the laptop and typed:

1

Temporary deafness.

1

God, how did the noise become more  _louder?_

5

The couple beside him were  _quivering_ with excitement. The woman literally was jumping and down her seat, clutching the paper that denoted their number. John braced himself for their groans.

6

As expected, the couples beside him groaned. The man with whom John talked to earlier, looked at him with utter disbelief as John got up. He slowly made way through the disappointed crowd, trying to focus on not stamping anybody's foot. After an eternity, he reached the stage, the lights blinding him. John swore, were they going to deprive him of his five senses today? He climbed onto the stage, shaking everyone's hands, still blinded to see who it was he gave his hand to.

"Very excited. Yeah, thank you. Great music."

There was suddenly silence for which John was very grateful. He blinked again, his vision slowly becoming normal. He then realised the cause for silence.

It was  _Sherlock._

Or was it?

The man who beside him was nothing like Sherlock. But, he  _was_ Sherlock. John never felt this confused. He never felt this... _attracted?_ before either. Sherlock's hair was all over the place - a treat for the hands. It looked like he just got out of bed and yet had that distinct personality about it. His eyes were his natural blue, shining (probably with the false excitement of getting selected). His lips...Sherlock seemed to have realised that God gifted him the perfect set of lips and decided to take advantage of it. He carefully outlined his Cupid's bow, taking care that it looked completely natural. And  _dear God above,_ was that  _eyeliner?_

John felt a little tug in the area of his stomach. Never did he realise the truthfulness of the phrase "knocking your air out". His hands were itching to wrap themselves up in his hair, to explore every nook of face, to  _touch._  And those  _lips._

John was too preoccupied to hear the jeerings and the catcalls of "Gay!" and "Faggots!". He was too preoccupied to notice that the eighth couple were selected. Actually, he became unaware of everything in the world. There was only one thing in his mind and that was Sherlock's  _damn_  eyeliner.

To make it even worse, Sherlock held John's hand, smiling at the band and ignoring the audience.

"Please act happy" he whispered.

That brought John right back to Earth. He smiled at the audience and waved at them. Now, that the couples had been selected, the rest of the auditorium quietened down. Most of them were in tears while the rest merely seemed to be happy to stay and look at their favorite band in real life. The crew ushered them to another room so that they could receive their instructions while the band played a parting song for the crowds.

Meanwhile, John had only one thought:

He was  _attracted_  to  _Sherlock Holmes._

The realisation opened many doors and contemplations about his sexuality.

"Don't sweat it" his long-forgotten teacher's advice rang in his ears. "Let it happen and don't take rash decisions. You don't have to define your sexuality. You are allowed to live your life in whatever way you want"

"I don't have to  _do_ anything right away" he told himself, trying to think about the matter in hand.

"So, congratulations!" the director said, looking at the eight couples.

Now that John had Sherlock out of his mind, he noticed the other couples. He didn't bother trying to remember their names, he could always ask Sherlock. They were all straight couples except for one lesbian couple - Tara and Samantha. Apparently, they were the eighth couple he did not notice. Before he could analyze further, the director began talking.

"So sorry, Tara and Samantha! And, William and..."

"Hamish" John grunted, his irritation with his middle name not forgotten.

"Hamish. Right. The crowds were pretty anti-LGBT back there. You okay, Hamish? You looked quite angry..."

Oh, so that's how they interpreted it. Well, John was not going to correct them.

"Quite alright now, Mr. Sagarson. Thank you"

"Now, the crew members are pretty excited about this. They are the ones organizing the contest. My job is to film you all and put the winners clips in the video. So, without further ado, let me introduce you to Mr. Garibaldi!" Mr. Sagarson said and walked away, no doubt to being filming right from this moment.

A blond guy in his early twenties walked towards them, clearly excited. His hands were quivering and there was a bounce in his step.

"Please call me Tom" he said, pushing away a tuft of his hair, smiling at them all.

"So, right on to it then" He sounded more business-like now. "We are all  _very_ excited to have you all here. The crew had a lot of fun planning all this. We are going to have four rounds - each testing your understanding, your co-operation and like the song says, your knowledge of each other. Your first task begins this afternoon - so, I say, get some rest guys! Agatha will guide you to your rooms. Agatha?"

A twenty something girl quickly came and in her haste, dropped the notebook she was carrying. Sherlock, no,  _William_ , picked it up and gave it back to her. He whispered something to her and the girl looked more scared than ever. She quickly showed them to their rooms and left.

"So?" William said, as if he were waiting for John to say something. Did he look  _hopeful_?

"So?" John whispered.

"The manager!" Sherlock reverted to his old voice, for which John was grateful. His voice seemed to have woken John up. The man in front of him was his  _friend._ Someone he lived with for eight years. Not a model to ogle at.

"He wasn't here..." John said slowly.

"Exactly, Jo-Hamish! I'm trying to make friends with the crew to get some dirt. Nothing so far. Shall we go and take a look at his rooms?"

"Of course"

Both of them sneaked out, determined not to let anyone see them. They soon found the manager's room. He was apparently in because they could hear him talk on the phone. Sherlock frowned and beckoned John so that they could leave.

"John" Sherlock said in a small whisper, after they returned to their room.

The easy going atmosphere turned electric in a nano-second.

"I'm sorry" he said in a low voice, careful not to let his voice be heard in other rooms.

"What for?"

"The catcalls? I know it made you angry - you turned red and were clenching your fists"

"Oh, that. Well...that's alright" John said, adjusting his wig for lack of better things to do.

"Here, let me help you with that" William said, reaching for John's wig. Their fingers touched - just like they did a million times before. But, something was different this time. John could feel his heart thumping out loud. He remained very still, not knowing what to do.

Both their heads turned at a knock on the door.

"Mr. and uh... Mr. Atkins, are you ready?" Agatha came in, and asked.

Sherlock immediately left to comb his hair. John nodded mutely.

"Good then. We need you in five minutes. Good luck!" she said, smiling at Sherlock. He smiled back.

"Wearing that cologne then?" John joked.

Sherlock relaxed, and instead put on an expression John was very familiar with. He became consulting detective Sherlock from model William.

"Of course not. Take this phone" he said, handing over an iPhone. He took out another phone.

"So, as soon as I am two meters away from you'll feel a light vibration. As we get close, it'll only become stronger. But, don't directly come towards me. Fumble a bit but don't move much from your location."

John nodded, taking the phone.

They left the room, both of them seemed keen to follow an unspoken one-foot gap rule between them.

All the other couples were either overly excited about meeting the band or too determined to win. They were whispering to each other and John caught the gist of their conversations.

"Oh my god! I'm standing in front of  _Matt_ "

"Wait, he has a  _piercing_?"

"Look at her heels!"

"If I tap my left foot, the answer begins with a vowel, okay?"

"What's my favorite quote again?"

John merely sat with Sherlock, listening to Sherlock's deductions.

"Look at that woman in red heels. Obviously cheating. And, the guy currently on the phone? He's gay but doesn't know how to tell his wife"

"What were you whispering to Agatha?"

"Oh, you noticed that? I merely told her I could help if she was being abused at home. Which she is"

"Okay. And, hey tell me something about the band. I'm supposed to be a fan"

"Well, yes, it's better that way. I can't pretend I like them. So, yes, they are in fact from London.  _The X Mask_ is their most popular song yet. It's from their current album  _Hard Rock._  It's about a girl who wears a metaphorical mask, look it up. They are presently on their tour for  _Hard Rock_. The singer Matt apparently witnessed a marriage and was inspired by the wedding vows and wrote  _I Know You._  They've already recorded it. They are trying to video tape and release it as a single. More publicity"

His iPhone vibrated, clearly the app had begun its work. Great. As if he needed another remainder of how close he and Sherlock were sitting and what little effort would be required to hold his hand. John sighed. He had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

 


	2. Chapter 2

After a few vibration-filled minutes, all the couples were asked to move to a different room. John used this diversion to deactivate the app and with some slight surprise, saw that Sherlock was furiously trying to do the same, albeit in a much more discreet manner. He soon succeeded.

"Finally!" Sherlock whispered to John.

"How did you do it so quickly?" John asked, feeling the familiar flicker of irritation usually associated with his flatmate's intelligence.

"It was merely deactivating it, John. Not exactly quantum mechanics" he whispered back, now scanning the entire room.

"But...But the phone was in your pocket the whole time!"

Sherlock just gave John his usual "I'm fabulous and you know it" look and continued his scan. John felt a rush of his usual exasperated affection for his friend. He shaked his head, smiling to himself.

Tom was standing in the centre of a room which very much looked like the dressing-rooms on the telly. There were huge mirrors everywhere, not to mention the tons of make-up kits piled away neatly. There were five guys and three girls standing beside Tom, all of them inspecting the eight couples. Tom waved at them.

"Hello again! Before we begin filming, we thought we would give you a treat. Let me introduce you to the power behind all our shoots –  _Madness Within's_ very own make-up crew! The legends behind the magic you see! They've just finished with the band who, by the way, are modelling for a cover right now. Just imagine getting your make-up done by someone who's made Matt's iconic eyebrows or Diana's trend-setting marbled hair!"

The crew smiled at the couples who looked as shocked as they were when their number was called out. They cheered loudly and soon each of the artists picked a couple.

A girl who looked about twenty took William to a neighbouring mirror and asked him to close his eyes. She carefully scrutinised his face and then frowned. John, who was sitting beside William, could see her confusion. How could she make him  _more_  perfect _?_ She rummaged through the drawers, her mind, no doubt, whirring with different ideas. She took out a contouring palette and looked at his face again. She shook her head in defeat after a minute. She ended up highlighting his cheekbones and outlining his lips and eyes.

"All done Mr. Atkins" Ruby sighed in a disappointed tone. She liked a challenge, this girl.

"What do you think John?" he whispered in John's ear. Was Sherlock waiting for  _his_ approval? Why won't he stop whispering? Or invade John's personal space this way?  _Why?_

"Uhh..good. Very good. Nice." John struggled with words while Ruby put cucumber slices over John's eyes.

"Ruby, do you mind if I do his cheeks? I would love some contouring tips" William said, in that cute voice puppy-eyed look John only knew too well. Not surprisingly, she agreed.

John, meanwhile, was left cursing internally as he felt William's fingers applying a lot of things on his face. He felt something watery first, then something cool, and later something waxy. The textures kept changing but what held John's attention was William's smooth teasing strokes of the brush on his skin. Up, down, sideways...every stroke felt intense. Sometimes, William's fingers would hold his face one way or the other and John was left to control his heartbeat and to keep reminding himself to breathe slowly.

He heaved a sigh of relief after the contouring nightmare was finally over. Ruby then proceeded to his eyes and lips with careful strokes. John had to appreciate her patience and accuracy. She worked on him slowly while John could only impatiently wait to open his eyes. He finally opened his eyes to see Ruby washing her brushes nearby, giggling a little while William looked sheepish. He looked at himself in the mirror and disbelief  _wasn't_  his first feeling. He looked mostly like himself (just the blond wig was a bit weird). His face looked a little younger because of lesser wrinkles. Upon further inspection, John found that Sherlock found no reason to conceal a slightly noticeable scar near his ear. He easily could have but he chose not to. John felt something rise in his chest, something he couldn't explain. He somehow remembered something Sherlock has said a long while ago:

"The sign of true artistry is not to  _create_  beauty in a thing but only to  _find_  and  _emphasis_  the beauty something already possesses"

Before John could think about this, Agatha approached them asking them to move to the next room. John thanked Ruby for his eyes and lips (they did look a tad more seductive) to which she only giggled a little harder.

They were taken to a much picturesque room which on closer inspection turned to be made of movable cardboard walls. John knew he was going to be filmed today but couldn't help feeling self-conscious looking at all the cameras. He then focused his attention towards the six people who were obviously waiting for them. They were posing as impatient people but the overall effect was...well,  _incredibly steamy_.

There was Matt who was sitting on an ordinary wooden chair with his palm supporting his face and the other on an arm of the chair. He looked every bit like a king waiting. Peter was standing behind Matt's chair, naye, throne, both his arms folded on the back of the chair and his head a foot above Matt's. Even though Matt looked the king, Peter looked like the all-knowing wise one. Diana was there, with her killer red heels and the most violently painted crimson lips. She was sitting on a table, her legs fully stretched for everyone to admire. Alexa was completely goth and John had to admit – she was  _owning_ it. She was sitting on the corner of the table and had crossed her legs. She looked slightly disinterested, holding a cigarette in her hand that was waiting to be lit. Harry, the drummer, wore a full-fit white T-shirt which complimented his muscles quite well. He had placed his elbow on the wall to show off his biceps while placing his palm on the back of his head. Sam was sitting on a chair near the table, wearing  _a lot_ of jewellery but not much clothes. He had a wad of cash in his hands and he was posing as if someone interrupted him while he was counting his money. All of them were slightly smiling when they entered.

It was quite the symmetric look, two guys (Matt and Peter on the left), the two girls (Diana and Alexa on the table) and the other two guys (Harry and Sam on the right near the wall). However, John was sure that no one was thinking  _symmetric_  at that moment.

There was a shocked silence while the eight couples took in everything and then began a lot of "OH MY GOD"s, hooting and whistles. The band lost their composure and began laughing, all of them transformed into normal people once again and the room felt a lot cooler.

"Hello again!" Tom said, no,  _chirped_ , a Cheshire grin on his face. "We just wrapped up our shoot for a song cover. Something tells me you weren't sorry to witness it. Anywaaaaaay...Are you all excited? Nervous?"

There was some nervous laughter in assent.

"I know exactly how that feels. The first time I met Matt, I was shaking" he acknowledged, shooting a knowing look at Matt.

"I still do, I just hide it more successfully. Don't tell him!" he whispered dramatically. All of them laughed, including John. Despite all the conflict inside, it was impossible not to relax in Tom's presence. His happiness was contagious. He continued, still in that excited schoolboy tone:

"Well, why are you still listening to lanky 'ol me? Go ahead, talk to them!" he made a gesture as if he were presenting royalty.

They all laughed again and scurried off to meet the band. Out of the corner of his eye, John saw that Mr. Sagarson had begun filming while Tom was making sure everything was okay with everything. He seemed really in command of everything despite his easy-going attitude.

John saw that almost everyone was making a beeline for Matt. It was easy to see why. He was the lead singer, songwriter, not to mention handsome as hell. He felt a stab of jealousy although he didn't understand why. He took Sherl..William's hand  _firmly_ in his and went to meet Diana, the female lead of the band. If either had any discomfort in said handholding, it wasn't expressed.

"Hi Hamish!" she said, with a genuine smile on her face.

"Hello Diana! It's so great to meet you in person!" Hamish replied, trying his best to sound like a fan.

"Trust me, Diana, he appears calm but I'm sure he's dying inside" Sher...William explained, a mischievous smile on his face.

"You promised you wouldn't embarrass me!" John said in a betrayed tone.

"I did indeed, but where is the fun in that?" William replied, his eyes full of mischief. His lips were curved with the pleasure of teasing John and Sherlock's whole face looked like a happy schoolboy's.

John couldn't tell the exact second when he decided to do it. Actually, he had no recollection of even the merest indication of wanting to do it. John only felt his toes pointing upwards on their own accord and the next thing he knew, he had pecked William on his cheek. Both of them paused, shocked with what had occurred. John was still on his toes and his lips were still inches away from William's cheek. The faint lip (gloss? paint?) stain was slightly shining on Sherlock's face.

Sherlock looked very taken aback. He very slowly wiped his cheek with his fingers, looking extremely confused. Sherlock looked like he was doing some quick thinking.

"Aww...I don't blame you, he was looking really cute!" Diana gushed, clearly smitten with them.

"Promise me more Hamish and my mouth will be shut till asked" William finally managed to say, some of the mischief coming back into his eyes.

Not trusting himself to speak, John merely shrugged. Diana smiled at them both again, this time with much more enthusiasm.

After talking to the other band members, they finally got to meet Matt. He shook both their hands warmly, a patient smile on his face.

"Please don't mind him" John said, indicating William, "he's a  _Madness Within_ illiterate. He's more into symphonies than songs I'm afraid."

"Oh?" Matt looked slightly curious.

"He plays the violin sometimes. Varies with his moods. You can only imagine the screeching and the wailing when he's angry" John shuddered, remembering the last time when he did not have a case for two days.

"I play the violin too. We should try a duet sometime" Matt smiled at William. Was it just him or was Matt's tone  _suggestive?_

Tom, once again skipping back to the centre of the room, looked at everyone expectantly. His eyes were sparkling and there was a jump to his step. How was this guy  _always_ so cheerful?

"Well, it's time you guys! The whole crew is completely excited about this. It took us a lot of time and effort and we are extremely proud of the result. It has been quite a journey for us – we did a test run with the crew and it has been eye opening indeed (here he looked at Mr. Sagarson sheepishly) but what matters is the end. After a lot of re-evaluation and consultation with psychiatrists, we've made the infallible  _I Know You_ contest. So, are you guys reaaady?"

There was a very enthusiastic chant of "Yessss" from the seven couples. The eighth couple, however, were too engrossed observing a heated discussion between the director Mr. Sagarson and Agatha, the girl who Sherlock helped before. The discussion soon ended and Agatha brought a huge black-colored box and placed it in front of Tom.

Tom put his hand on the lid of the box, smiling cheekily at all of them.

"This is it, you guys. This box has everything a couple may need for Round One"

The tension in the room suddenly rose. Even John felt a little competitive. He had known Sherlock for a greater time than any of these couples knew each other. They lived together since the first day they met. He felt that Sherlock  _deserved_ to be memorised, to be understood. Like it was the most natural thing in the world for John to know all about Sherlock. He felt a slight desperation to win, to show Sherlock that he noticed too. Noticed his loneliness behind the "I don't have friends!", noticed the heart he refused to acknowledge. He wanted to show Sherlock that he _mattered._  Because he  _knew_ that Sherlock had esteem issues behind all his arrogance. Because John  _knew_ Sherlock and wanted to prove it too. Because with Sherlock Holmes, actions spoke louder.

Finally, Tom opened the box.


	3. Round One

Everyone was too busy staring at the box to notice Sherlock quietly re-activating the app, his fingers typing nimbly under the coat. A quick vibration reminded John of what was to come. He nodded at Sherlock, who in turn, nodded hesitantly back. John furrowed his eyebrows in thought – did Sherlock look _worried?_

“Well, now that we have your attention...” Tom dragged on, with a smirk. He seemed to be enjoying every moment of the suffocating tension in the room. If looks could kill, Tom would have been killed fourteen times.

“I would like for our producer, Ms. Summer to reveal the contents of this box to our...” his eyes wandered off to all the couples “...slightly impatient contestants”.

Someone snorted and it took Tom considerable control to not giggle.

Miss Summer slowly opened the box. It had eight black blindfolds and eight silver ones. The cameras focused onto them, while she slowly took one from the box and displayed it to all the contestants. They all looked confused, until Victoria (the cheating red-heeled woman) grunted:

“Blindfolds”

Sherlock, in the mean-time, was silently fidgeting more and more in a way only recognisable to John. He cast a look at Sherlock but Sherlock refused to meet his eye.

Tom immediately chirped in, reclaiming the attention of the audience.

“Round One: Blindspot.” For some reason, he imitated the female voice from _A Minute to Win It_ with considerable success. He was really into game shows, this man.

 “You and your partner will be blindfolded and will be left in a room. Your objective is to find your partner and pull one of the ropes hanging from the ceiling. There are only four ropes, which sadly means that we’ll have to say goodbye to eight of you very soon.” His expression turned solemn.

“That’s it?” one of the contestants asked, incredulously.

“Oh, no, no, we are not _that_ merciful” the spark in Tom’s eyes returned. “You are not allowed to speak nor use your hands – we will be monitoring” he said, pointing to the cameras. A huge Cheshire grin spread on his face, once he saw the discomfort of his contestants.

“Any questions?” his eyes sparked, not unlike Sherlock when he proposes an extremely mad plan. (to which John eventually agrees to, of course)

No one answered. Everyone was looking at each other with hope and worry. Ruby (our previous make-up artist), came to blindfold us. She put the fold on Sherlock and then slowly put on John’s.

“I am so worried about your eye-make up!” She fretted, while tying it from behind.

“It’s okay, you can do it again.” John replied, his mind clearly on bigger things than Ruby’s eye-makeup.

“But it won’t be like William’s!”

“Wait, what?”

“He silently begged me to do your eye and lip makeup too, you know. Don’t tell him!” she giggled in his ear.

John was glad that Sherlock was already blindfolded because his cheeks were burning red. The vibration was _not helping, goddamnit._

“Okay, just hold each of my arm, both of you” she directed John’s hand to hers.

They were led into another room along with the other contestants. John was left at the entrance (he assumed) and Sherlock was taken further along the room. Tom’s voice came in through the speakers of the room.

“Hello everyone, this is Tom again! _Eye-see_ that all is going well. This is quite the _spectacle!_ How are my _pupils_ doing?”

Two or three people groaned at his puns. John had to admit – they were so bad that they were good.

“Sorry, sorry. I guess my jokes got too cornea”

“Oh, come on!” someone whined.

There was flutter of laughter from the speaker.

“Okay, alright. The game is simple. Find your partner. Pull the rope. Got it?”

There were several murmurs of assent. Ruby came back, wished John luck and left.

“This is it, guys” Tom’s voice was quivering with excitement.

“Arms behind your back” said Alexa.

“Get set” said Diana.

“GO!” yelled Matt.

John’s phone had stopped vibrating but he was not very worried. He walked forward slowly, trying different directions to see if the phone would vibrate. He could hear the frantic scuttling all around him and Tom’s never-stopping commentary although John could not comprehend a word of it. He moved slowly, not wanting to hit his face to the wall (which, by the sound of the cursing, someone already had). One of the ropes hit his face once, but he quickly moved away because he was not allowed to loiter near it without his partner.

After a few minutes of idle passing, his phone started buzzing slightly and John took a step forward to test it. It buzzed a little harder and John immediately changed direction. He walked in a zig-zag manner, every step sending more blood to his heart, every vibration getting more intense.

“This is Sherlock, the guy you lived with for ten years. Stop embarrassing yourself.” he repeated to himself, although not quite achieving the desired result. There was something about the blindfolds – John would have never felt the anticipation he was feeling now.

He walked a little further and stilled. He didn’t need the phone anymore – he _knew_ that Sherlock was a feet away from him, also moving in his direction. His hand stilled and his breathing became slightly ragged. He moved forward – and they collided.

“Congratulations, Tony and Hannah! You go to Round twooooo” Tom announced, in midst of the celebratory phrases the band were yelling in the background.

Tom’s voice knocked some sense into John. Sherlock prodded John with his shoulder for the sake of the people watching. They both faked an expression of delight on finding each other (not so fake in John’s case, however). Sherlock took John’s hand in his and strode forward, clearly knowing what he was doing. John just held on to Sherlock’s hand, savouring the touch while it lasted. Sherlock halted to a stop, cursing slightly. Tony and Hannah had already used that rope. What were the odds? 0.25.

“Oooh, there’s a couple almost about to make it. Will they? YES THEY DID! Congratulations Jonah and Amy! You made it to round two!” Tom announced, clearly happy with how things were going.

Jonah and Amy were laughing loudly as they passed John and Sherlock, clearly happy with each other.

“Things are getting a _little_ intense now. Two ropes, four couples who have already found each other. The odds are not in your favour, fellas! I would hurry if I were you!”

“Remember what’s at stake guys” said Alexa cockily.

Sherlock increased his pace, clearly not happy with how things were. John was a little worried too, he wanted to win so _badly,_ for reasons he did not know what.

“You never were a good liar, Watson!” admonished his inner conscience. John calmly pressed Shift+Delete. Sherlock Holmes was not the only person who had a mind palace after all.

“Two couples are approaching their conquest...Oooh, who’ll win I wonder! So close, so close! Oh, oh, that’s it! Ana and Jonathan will be seeing Round _two!_ Congrats, you guys! Alexa was rooting for you...” he was cut off, probably by Alexa.

“I love you all equally” she said cheekily into the microphone while Tom let out a soft yell.

“Okay, yeah, we believe you, Alexa. God, that woman has sharp nails.”

Sherlock halted in triumph and John’s head met his shoulder bone (no complaints mate).

“There you go! Hamish and William find the fourth! Congratulations, both of you!”

The entire room was filled with a deafening din of noises whilst Sherlock pulled the rope. A bucket of water fell from above, drenching them head to toe. John immediately removed his blindfold, giggling after he realised what happened. William seemed to have done the same, because John found himself staring at William’s eyes. A light drizzle still continued, but neither of them moved away, instead they focused on smiling at each other. This was normal, this was two friends enjoying a joke. This was just like the million other times John and Sherlock shared a joke, just the two of them. This was familiar territory, this was _home_.

The drizzling finally stopped and John found rose petals taking their place. He stilled, he could feel a strange pull in his stomach. William’s eyes met his and they seemed to be searching his whilst the rose petals still fell all around them. Sherlock came closer; his eyes still intent on John’s. John’s heart began beating a lot harder; his fingers were itching to touch Sherlock. He stood where he was, afraid to move. Sherlock stopped two painful inches away from John, and stared at him with an intensity that almost scared him. Then, in the midst of the din everyone was making, with all the cameras pointed towards them, with rose petals swaying gently between them, Sherlock Holmes kissed John. It was a quick peck, very hesitant and immediately pulled away. It was almost as if he was scared that he would burn his lips. He immediately turned away from John and smiled at the cameras. John soon joined him, his smile quite real.

Even though Sherlock Holmes was an incredible actor, even though the whole thing was a set-up, even though everything was lies, for those glorious five seconds, John Watson felt _complete._

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Moriarty killed Shan. Yes.


End file.
